Justice: Barnett looks to turn Astros’ offense into a hit

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — New Astros hitting coach Mike Barnett plunged into the job the moment it was offered to him last fall.

In those first days, he studied video, fired off text messages and made telephone calls. Some players he only spoke with. Others he joined for January hitting sessions at Minute Maid Park.

By the time Barnett arrived at spring training, he was well on his way to building relationships and doing what he could to improve one of baseball’s worst offenses in 2010.

“He’s ready to roll,” Astros manager Brad Mills said.

Mills offered that assessment in December at a time when most baseball people are still in vacation mode. Barnett may not have taken on the toughest job in baseball, but it comes with challenges.

If you thought the Astros were a lousy offensive team in 2010, you might not have done your homework. Lousy doesn’t begin to describe how bad they were. They were stunningly bad, curiously bad.

For instance, they were last in the National League in walks and home runs. For good measure, they were first in strikeouts.

What do those numbers reveal? First, hitters were impatient. Second, they swung at too many offerings opposing pitchers wanted them to swing at.

Instead of working the counts, instead of waiting for a mistake pitch, they got themselves out too often. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates scored fewer runs in the NL last season, and the Astros were last in on-base and slugging percentages.

When Mills and Barnett first spoke, they went over each hitter, with the manager offering opinions on what needed improvement.

It begins with discipline

As Barnett, who had been the Astros’ roving minor league instructor the last two years, works with hitters individually, he also hopes to establish a team-wide philosophy.

“We’ve got to be more disciplined in staying with our strengths and getting the ball out over the plate,” he said. “The big thing we want to hammer into guys is getting to understand their strengths and being able to take advantage of mistakes they can do something with.”

Barnett believes in hitters looking for first-pitch fastballs in their best hitting zone.

“The problem is guys sometimes try to cover four quadrants of the strike zone too often, or they get caught trying to protect against, say, a really good slider,” he said. “They end up fouling off the fastball right down the middle. Then you’re in trouble.

“Last year, a lot of times guys were swinging at the first pitch, but it may have been a pitcher’s pitch.”

Different strokes for …

Each player requires something different. In the outfield, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Carlos Lee have established track records.

“I’m like the Maytag repairman with those guys,” Barnett said. “I’ve got to learn the machine inside and out and just keep them running. It’s not a matter of reinventing the swing or the approach. Just keep it simple and stick with a couple of keys.”

As for the younger guys, he has worked on something a bit different with all of them. He accepts the fact that Chris Johnson may have some high strikeout totals, but he believes he’ll have high home run totals, too.

High hopes for young duo

Barnett envisions Brett Wallace and Jason Castro taking dramatic steps forward as they become more comfortable in a big league environment.

“One thing we’ve tried to focus on is making sure I’m able to repeat my timing, making sure I’m getting ready early,” Castro said. “That’ll allow my body to be in the best position to hit. I think the biggest thing for me last year was my body position before the pitch. It was not allowing me to get to some of the pitches I should have been getting to with enough power to do anything with it.”

As for the home-run totals, that’s an unknown part of the equation. The Astros hit 108 last season. That’s 80 fewer than the Cincinnati Reds, 54 fewer than the San Francisco Giants.

Barnett believes home runs are a byproduct of getting in front of pitchers and looking for a pitch they’re capable of hitting hard. General manager Ed Wade was concerned enough about the lack of power to acquire Clint Barmes to play short and Bill Hall second.

Selective aggressiveness

Since Opening Day 2010, the Astros have changed starters at catcher (Castro), first base (Wallace), second base (Hall) and shortstop (Barmes). And with younger players such as Castro and Wallace, there’s a huge unknown factor.

Wade also thinks the power will be better. He believes Lee and Pence could hit 30 home runs apiece and that Wallace eventually will hit for power. Hall and Barmes each could hit 15.

“We do have to be more selective at the plate without giving away aggressiveness,” Wade said. “It’s something that we talk about frequently, and Mike Barnett will continue to emphasize the importance of getting deeper into counts and taking advantage of opportunities to draw walks and set the table.”